Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/ap

This Proto-Italic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Italic

Alternative forms

• *aps

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”).

Adverb

*ap

1. from, off, away

Alternative reconstructions

• *apV

Reconstruction notes

The reconstruction of the Proto-Italic form is somewhat uncertain, as it's not clear when or how the final vowel of the PIE form was lost. The voicing of the final consonant to -b can be interpreted as an example of regular voicing of plosives in word-final position, as in fēced < *fēcet, a sound change that some reconstruct at the common Italic stage. De Vaan alternatively suggests that the term was secondarily created from *aps on the model of parallels such as *eks beside *eɣ. Others explain -b here as the result of voicing in front of voiced consonants, in which case the prefix *ap would have become *ab in front of words such as *doukō. Compare Latin sub (< Proto-Indo-European *upó) for a term with a similar etymological issue.

Descendants

• Latin: ab
• Oscan: 𐌀𐌀- (aa-)
• Umbrian: 𐌀𐌐- (ap-) (in 𐌀𐌐𐌄𐌇𐌕𐌓𐌄 (apehtre, “apart, from outside”))